Update from Malaysia

I had my last meetings today in Malaysia though I am here until early Saturday. Thursday and Friday are free days to explore the islands, maybe see some animals, and enjoy dinner and a movie with STS students...maybe a little more shopping as well along with resting up before the long travel day on Saturday.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Chen, a SIM worker who is working to build a mission training center at STS. This center will be a place for potential mission workers to learn skills such as language, contextualization, as well as debriefing once the worker returns home. Dr. Chen has a real heart for missions and sharing the gospel with everyone. He frequently travels to China and works to train Christian leaders there. He spoke about his years as a pastor and how he strived to inspire members of his congregation to reach out and spread the gospel. His congregation used personal evangelism (friendship evangelism) to spread the gospel. He explained the training program in place to help members of his congregation feel comfortable with sharing the gospel. Dr. Chen stated that as pastors in training, we can learn all the theories on mission there are in the world, but if we don't put those theories into practice, they are worthless. Missions is action, doing something. He explained if you plant a seed and don't water it, it will die. Likewise, if you have mission theories but don't "water" them and put the theories into actions, they are worthless and will die.

This morning, I had the chance to meet with two BCCM pastors. They spoke about the challenges of reaching out and sharing the gospel in urban centers versus rural villages. In villages, prayer and miracles are very important to the spread of the gospel. Whereas, in cities, programs such as the ALPHA program are more effective. They spoke of the importance of follow-up programs. New believers have to know they are loved and cared for through one on one discipleship and mentoring.

This afternoon I went to the local little Italy resturant with Dr. Thu (the president and founder of STS) and Brenda Thu. It was nice to have a time of fellowship with them as they were living in Pittsburgh for several months. I also have to admit, I enjoyed eating the Italian style meal! :) They send their love and greetings to everyone at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, especially those from ESF and others who helped transport them to the airport.

Thursday, if the weather permits, I'll take one of the local water taxis to one of Sabbah's many islands. This is hopefully provide not only an opportunity to relax in the beauty of God's creation, but also to take time to reflect on experiences over the past five weeks. God certainly is opening my eyes to all He is doing in the world. Along the way, I have met so many amazing people who have assisted in my journey and have inspired me by their stories. Friday, I'll take time to prepare for my next long series of plane flights and spend some time fellowshipping with STS students. I think we are going to see the new Spiderman movie. :)

These are just some of my observations and notes from my time spent among pastors and church leaders in Malaysia. *I'm sorry again for any spelling and other errors. I normally type out these blog entries in a hurry, trying to share as much information as possible in between meetings.* Please continue to pray for health and safe travels. I hope to be able to update again soon once arriving in Kenya. Love in Christ.